Democratic socialist poised to lead DC after opponent concedes, setting stage for clashes with Trump
Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist member of the Washington, D.C. City Council described as "D.C.'s version of [New York City Mayor] Zohran Mamdani," is set to become mayor of...
By Fox News · Fox News
Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist member of the Washington, D.C. City Council described as "D.C.'s version of [New York City Mayor] Zohran Mamdani ," is set to become mayor of the nation's capital after her opponent conceded the race. While the race has not been called by the district election officials or the Associated Press, Thursday morning's concession by main challenger Kenyan McDuffie clears the way for Lewis George to secure victory in the ranked-choice primary election. In a city that leans overwhelmingly left and with no real challengers on the ballot, Lewis George will likely win November's general election for mayor and is poised to replace current Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser, who on occasion worked with President Donald Trump over the last two years but ultimately opted not to pursue a fourth term at the city's helm. Lewis George's challengers were McDuffie and five other candidates who polled very low: Rini Sampath, Gary Goodweather, Ernest Johnson, Hope Solomon and Vincent Orange. With a more adversarial approach to the current administration, Lewis George's victory tees up a potential showdown with Trump as the president made cleaning up D.C. during his second term a main goal, maintains a deployment of the National Guard to the nation's capital and has threatened repeatedly to end home rule for the district. Opposing Trump's deployment of the National Guard to D.C. was a central tenet of Lewis George's platform on the council and during her campaign. DSA-LINKED DC COUNCILMEMBER MOUNTS MAYORAL BID TO SUCCEED BOWSER "Like many of you, I am shocked and outraged that President Trump has announced he is weaponizing the Home Rule Act by deploying the National Guard and exercising authority over the Metropolitan Police Department. This is a direct attack on the 700,000 residents of DC and we will not stand for it," she said in a statement when Trump announced the move last August. While Bowser offered cooperation with the Trump administration…